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One.Quin Snyder on his decision to not play Rudy Gobert down the stretch against the Memphis Grizzlies: Rudy wasn’t playing good, and we had that lineup in, and those guys brought us back. And Rudy knows that. Rudy was the first one cheering for them. So, no. We just — that group that was playing at the end was playing the best basketball, so we went with them.

Rudy Gobert on his foul trouble against the Grizzlies: There was some weird calls, but you know, I think I gotta be smarter also. I know that out of the five fouls, probably gonna be one or two bad calls, but I gotta avoid those three fouls I make, you know? I can’t allow myself to make stupid fouls and put myself in this position.

Two.Quin Snyder on the bench defense: Until we get healthy, we just got–you know, it doesn’t, it’s not an excuse for our defense, but we’ve gotta — hopefully we’ll continue to be better with fewer guys, and then when we get more depth be able to keep that level higher.

That’s what I’ve been sh–’cause we have been, you know, our bench has been really good defensively at times, but there’s a level of energy that’s unique that they have to have to do that. And it’s not, it’s, you know, it’s not common but it’s doable, and that’s where we gotta be. We gotta have not just extra effort, but extraordinary effort.

Three. Jerry Sloan: Small College Basketball Hall of Famer.

This is impressive enough on its own, but it’s merely what Jerry achieved before he ever set foot on an NBA floor. In the same class of honorees were Willis Reed and Earl Monroe. Here’s the greatest story ever told involving these guys:

I’m going to take a stab at how this story would go in today’s NBA:

“We were playing Team X in Arena Y. Team X had Future All-Star XA and Future Hall of Famer XB and Future Crazy-Dressing Analyst XC and those guys. Future Hall of Famer XA got a rebound and threw it out and was gonna beat Role Player YA down the floor. He was hauling it down the floor. He had his head down, and when he looked up, Defensive Stalwart YB was right there, man. XA ran over YB. Charge! XA fell on the floor and hurt his knee. He already had a bad knee. He threw his arms up in the air, looked at the refs with a really whiny expression and yelled, ‘Did you see that? Call a foul!’ while YB and the rest of the players ran back up the floor. Team Y scores easily.

Later in the game, XA got another rebound. He hauled off down the sideline again. This time he saw YB. He didn’t go right, and he didn’t go left. He ran up to YB, jumped into him and released the ball. The whistle blew. And there was XA saying, ‘Your wife tastes like Honeynut Cheerios.’ Y-B replied, ‘Well, I told my mom I was signing with your team and she cried.’* The two stepped up to each other and the rest of the players on the floor crowd around. They put on their most menacing faces, but really are just waiting for the refs to separate them.

And these guys have every kid in American copying their style, because they get paid a lot and have a lot of endorsement deals.”

Four. * Reference @_@ (via CBS Sports):

Five.George Hill on the role he’s played in Rudy Gobert’s progression: You know, before I got here, he’s the type of player, when you say something to him, he always has an excuse for it. And you know, as we’ve been, you know, talking more and Coach has been on him more, he’s starting to understand just listen first and take everything in and apply it to the game.

And you know, I told him any time you can just listen sometimes, take the constructive criticism and see that, and apply it to what they’re telling you to do — because they’re not telling us something that’s gonna hurt us. They’re trying to help us ’cause you always want to win — and just take that and apply it and do the best you can, and you’re gonna be a better player.

And he’s been doing a great job of that and really applying all the knowledge that the coaches and stuff have been telling him and applying it to his game, and he’s having a great year so far.

Six. Finger talk:

Joe Ingles on how his finger injury last year affected him: Mine was on my left hand, and kind of like George is going through now. It’s, when it’s on your shooting hand or your stronger hand, I think it’s pretty difficult. Obviously, for Gordon [Hayward], it’s different. His is on his opposite hand. He can tape it up and it probably doesn’t affect him as much. But when it’s on your strong hand, it makes a bit of a difference.

George Hill on his finger injury: I gotta wear the brace a couple days longer, and th–after that I can be back there. So you know, eager to get back out there…You don’t really know how much you actually need your thumb until it’s gone.

Questions Gordon Hayward has been asked this week (ones about his shot and whether he can not dunk with two hands not included):** Was your finger bothering you our there in the third quarter? Is it still bugging you?** Is it something you feel like you are having to play through and is kind of challenging to play through whatever it is?** Did you re-aggravate it? Was there a specific place it happened?** Is the finger still bothering you?** You’ve been rubbing that finger, massaging it the whole time you were talking to us. You do it during games too, and I think a lot of fans wonder what that means, what you’re feeling, why you do that?** It hurt when you dunked it with two hands, and at least you have timeout to then [] a little bit from the finger, but are there other moments in the game when you feel…?** Is it better than it was when you first came back?** We saw you grabbing your finger a little bit. Is it bothering you?

Seven. Is the team crazy thin because players are eating their backups, or are players having to eat their backups because they’re crazy thin?

Eight.Quin Snyder after the loss to the Chicago Bulls: We weren’t very good. That’s clear…I don’t see any reason that because we played this way tonight, that we’re necessarily, like, you know, sirens are going off for our offense. You know, our offense is, I don’t know, over the course of the season has been not great, but solid…

[We] lost to a really good team…So, I mean, we could be better. You know, tha–there’s no question about that. And, we’ll try to be better, but I, you know — well, part of the th–part of games like this, and you know, is it’s an 82-game season, and you gotta do everything you can to get better when you don’t play well.

But you know, I don’t look at our group — I, looking, we didn’t play well. I don’t think we have to, you know, examine everything, and you know, start over. You know, I just think we gotta play better, and there’s some things we absolutely have to do better. And, that’s clear, so.

Nine.Joe Ingles on the Jazz’s international locker room: We’ve got seven international players out of 14, 15, whatever it is, and it brings something different. It’s not — obviously, we’ve got two French, two Australian, Brazilian, Canadian. Like, we’ve got guys from all over, so you kinda get to learn different cultures. I think it’s good for the American guys too, and even the coaching staff and the organization, just to learn a bit about different cultures.

Ten.Unintentional Dirty Quote Machines of the Week (UDQM)**Gordon Hayward on his finger: I got squeezed pretty hard, and you know, it was throbbing the rest of the game.**Hayward on rubbing his finger: I mean, I’m just kind of making it feel better. I think it’s just, getting a little bit of the swelling out. A little massage helps it feel better.**Craig Bolerjack: Beautiful look inside, Hood could not finish.

One.Dennis Lindsey on the impact George Hill is already having: After the Portland preseason game, the, and then going to Phoenix, we had a tough practice. And there were a couple defensive transition drills that we were doing that, in years past, Quin [Snyder] would’ve had to address where the mistakes were.

And George just stopped everybody and was 100 percent spot on, and said, “Hey, look. This is where we have to be better.” And so, I’m happy for Quin that allows another voice to echo the things that he’s saying.

And then, little touches. Things that he’s already done in the community. His camp…Joe Johnson and George both had a thing for military support. So, on Nov. 3, those guys and myself and a few other people are gonna go and do a military initiative that’s near and dear to George’s heart…Even though it’s early in his Jazz career, his voice does carry a lot of weight already.

A video posted by Borisdiaw (@diawboris) on Oct 29, 2016 at 2:10pm PDT

Three.Dennis Lindsey on Rudy Gobert’s extension: Rudy was really in the mindset that he wanted to stay in Salt Lake and Utah and stay with the Jazz organization…He told [his agent] Bouna [Ndiaye] that he wanted to find a deal that was fair to him and wanted to find a deal that allowed us to keep him and other core players going forward. …

The three objectives through this negotiation and really going forward, we’ve honored these three things, that we literally put them down on paper. We want Rudy to become as a, safe an athlete as possible. So, many times availability is the best ability, and especially with someone like Rudy that just impacts a game off presence. So, we wanna make him safer. And so, a lot of things that we put into the agreement, I think honor that.

And then we wanna make him stronger. And he’ll complete each of his roles that he currently has at a higher rate if he’s stronger. And by definition, I think if he’s a stronger athlete, he’s a safer athlete. He doesn’t put himself in bad positions.

And then we wanna make him more skilled. And so, there’s — and not all of a sudden where he’s, you know, taking [Hakeem] Olajuwon turn shots. I think that would be an unfair goal to place upon him.

We wanna work on offensive skills, but that could be pivoting to make better decisions with his passing. He’s always been a willing passer. He’s now more of an able passer but we have to enable him more with better footwork, so he has better vision. Working with his stance so he’s able to catch the ball better, quickly get it to the rim and in a strong fashion, finish.

So, really what we told Rudy in private was, is we’re committing to you as a core piece of our team because you’re a defensive presence, because of your shot-blocking, because of your rebounding, and because of your finishing.

And if those things all — if we can make you safer, stronger and more skilled so you’re able to do it more and better and more efficient, then the goal’s been accomplished. Let’s not take the contract and try to turn you some–into something that you’re not…Rudy is quite realistic, as his agent is, that we can have a deal that makes sense.

Four. ♥

Five. Traveling at the time this #UDP of Dante Exum appeared (H/T @5kl) and this was the best I could do with the devices on hand. Rudy appeared to enjoy it, though.

Six.Joe Ingles, asked who he would save if DJ and PK were both dangling from a cliff and he could only save one: Oh no, I’d just walk off and go get some dinner or something.

Ingles on the World Series: I had dinner with [Dante Exum] last night. He begged me to come and watch the World Series or whatever it was called…It was entertaining. I’m glad I saw the last bit of it, I guess. And I’ll tell my kids one day that I watched [the Cubs] win it after 100-and-whatever years. That’s a lie. I’m not gonna tell them that.

Ingles*, making Gobert proud by making fun of Trevor Booker’s hairline:

Ten.Quin Snyder on the status of Derrick Favors’ body: I don’t think he’s 100 percent yet. It’s, you know, Derrick’s situation — we forget Derrick, you know, Derrick hurt his back last year, and it’s just been a process for him, you know, getting healthy.

And it’s kinda gonna go on — it’s gonna be ongoing where we’re — I guess it’s not so much a minutes restriction as us really being aware of his body and physically trying to keep him fr–really, you know, it’s, in some respects it’s how we are with every player, but a little more conscious of that with Derrick because of his size and his physique and how much, I won’t say how much pounding, but how much energy and effort and physicality goes into his game.

Eleven. Meanwhile in Russia…

Also watching his son play: Jazz-hat-wearing Karl Malone.

Twelve.Derrick Favors, asked if he’s thinking about his upcoming extension: I’m not really thinking about it right now. I’m just worried about the season…Of course I want to be here, you know, but you know, it’s a business too. But of course I want to be here, and I love being here.

Thirteen. Jerry sporting all that Jazz gear ♥♥♥

And one more Jerry Sloan appearance along with a classic Frank Layden story:

Fourteen.Quin Snyder, asked for his thoughts on the election results in light of what Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr have publicly said: Frankly, it’s, for me personally, it’s not something that I’m inclined to talk about…

I respect the fact that Pop and Steve Kerr both have taken a point to speak their views, but it’s not something right now for me personally that I want to share with everybody that’s listening.

Fifteen.Unintentional Dirty Quote Machines of the Week (UDQM)**Craig Bolerjack on Rudy Gobert’s lost contact: The ball boy came out and wiped it up with a towel.**Boler on Gobert: I just like the confidence in his hands. Able to just grab it and go.**Quin Snyder on Joe Johnson on the block: He was able to be really efficient down there, and that’s something, you know, you could just tell, there wasn’t a lot of dialogue…We did it, you know, think pretty quickly and he didn’t have to say much. But he knew what was going on.**Snyder on George Hill: I think some of the things that he’s doing, you were hopeful that he’d do, but you’re equally pleased that he’s doing them.** Joe Ingles on what he’d do if DJ and PK were dangling from a cliff: I might tease you. I might grab you and then like, “Yeah, I got you,” and then let you go.**Snyder on what he wants defensively from Trey Lyles: Sending the signal that, you know, when he gets out there this is gonna be — “I’m gonna be a pain in the b–you know, pain in the butt for you to play against, ’cause I’m gonna play hard and I’m gonna make you uncomfortable.”**Matt Harpring to Boler on the Where Are You Watching contest: You’re not on my staff.Boler: No, no. No, no. I’m just part of your, well, I’m part of the staff because I’m here with you.**Dennis Lindsey on Kevin O’Connor: He and I like to give each other the business.**Lindsey on negotiations with Rudy Gobert: As all good deals are when they’re consummated, you know, both sides were able to lay out what was important to them. And sometimes even there, then, there’s a gap. Even though there’s two willing partners, there’s just a gap that exists…A lot of things lined up, and we’re certainly glad we have him in the fold.**Snyder on the loss to San Antonio: If you don’t hit first, if you don’t shift, if you don’t wedge, if your guards don’t get in there, their size takes over.**Harpring on Nicolas Batum and Gordon Hayward: I mean, Batum is all over creating contact…Hayward this time gets angry and says, “You know what? Fine. I’m gonna go all the way in.”**Harpring on Nicolas Batum and Gordon Hayward, Part 2: They’re trying to get physical with Hayward. And Batum — they’re saying, “Let’s get up into him during crunch time to see how he reacts.”**Snyder, asked for his assessment on how Dante Exum is playing: I’m going to give Dante a blow.**Harpring on Derrick Favors defending Nikola Vucevic shot attempt: He rushed it because he thought Favors was coming.**Harpring on Rodney Hood: He says, “You know what? I’m gonna pull it out. OK, everyone get out of the way.”**Boler to Harpring during a McDonald’s promo: You’ll take it all PLUS your nuggets! (H/T @stvnprk)**Boler on Dante Exum: Quin Snyder’s gonna ride him as long as he can.**Harpring on Hood: Hood’s length at that position is great.

So slow with timeouts to stop opponent runs.
Now the Heat are down by 12.by RocketSprocket on Nov 12, 2016 | 9:30 PM

in 5 years time, NBA will have elephants and stuff in arenas..by NameAndSurname on Nov 12, 2016 | 9:32 PM

I’ve forgotten what it looks like when a Heat player puts the ball thru that net thingy.by #ThrowUpTheX on Nov 12, 2016 | 9:36 PM

An absolute brick fest for most of the 3rd.by #ThrowUpTheX on Nov 12, 2016 | 9:51 PM

jeez, this is hard to watch
hoping for better days .. as the young guys developby crosshanger on Nov 12, 2016 | 9:57 PM

JAZZ you have tuned us well ! congratulations !
Imho, this Jazz team could make some noise this season in the west – well coached – well played…
just for the info – Jazzs HC first assistant (Igor Kokoškov) is Slovenias national team coach.by NameAndSurname on Nov 12, 2016 | 10:22 PM

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Where are you now?
I make my home in Charlotte, North Carolina. My family and I, we’ve been living there for the past 16 years. I got involved in coaching AAU basketball through coaching my — I had twin daughters that played, so I had them and plus the other few girls that were really good.

So, that developed my passion for coaching, for teaching. And so, I got really heavy into AAU basketball. I have an individual training business where I basically tr–develop skill on the court, on the basketball court. And, some other things too.

On being back in Utah
I look at Utah as being, you know, my home. This is the team and the city* that drafted me. This is where I got my start in NBA basketball. You only get that one first love, and this is definitely it.

So for me coming back here, it’s really like coming home…It’s surreal in that things are so much different, you know, but it’s still a great feeling to be back here.

* People calling Utah a city: Blue Edwards.

As a young player, did you appreciate Jerry Sloan?
I had great coaching from high school into college, so I de–and then my parents raised me to be very respectful of authority. So when I came here, I was wide, you know, wide-eyed and wide-eared. I listened, and I followed the directions as much as I possibly could.

When people look at Jerry, they think that he’s just this, you know, just this irascible, tough, mean guy. He’s not that at all. You know, he’s just focused and he, you know, he knows that he has a job to do, and he’s focused on doing his job.

So, I listened to what he said and I tried to do as much as, you know, what he, you know, instructed, and I tried to do it the way he wanted to do, and which was all-out on a professional level.

You’re gonna always butt heads with people…but all of that is good, and I think when you have a little bit of controlled in-fighting, it makes the dynamic of that relationship work a lot better.

I have the utmost respect for Jerry Sloan: then, now, when I left, when I came back, and even today because I know that he taught me a lot as a basketball player, and he helped me develop, you know, as a man as well…

Most of the basketball stuff I do now, 95 percent of it now, is stuff that I learned playing here in Utah playing under Jerry Sloan.

How hard, exactly, did Karl Malone train?
He invited me down to his house. I think he was training in Arkansas…but I did not get a chance to go. Delaney Rudd did, and Delaney Rudd, after a week, he called me. He said, “You going to work out with Karl?”

And I said, “I’m thinking about it.”

He’s like, “Don’t go. Don’t go. He gon kill you.”

I said, “What’d he do?”

He said, “Dude.” He said, “We rode a bike. It was about 5 miles around a lake.” He said, “We rode like five, six times. And then after that we went running. And then we went to the weight room.” He says, “In the weight room, you know, I’m doing my sets and I’m looking and he’s going real methodically.”

So you know, he — I didn’t get a chance to see that. I saw the results of that. But on the court, when he stepped on the court, practice or game, he was ready to go. So you know that he did the work. You weren’t gonna worry about him getting tired. You weren’t gonna worry about him getting hurt.

And as hard as he played for all the minutes he was on the basketball court, to not get, you know, hurt, or miss games — he might’ve missed, you know, a handful of games*, but that output — the input was greater than the output…And only Karl Malone and his trainers can testify to how intense the workouts were.

But me looking at that, you know, I’m like, that’s why he’s an all-pro. That’s why he’s gonna be a hall of famer, because he’s doing it when nobody’s watching.

* Six games due to injury out of 1,444 in 18 seasons; 99.6% attendance rate.

Would you have ever joined a superteam when you were playing?
No. Absolutely not — because the guys, the era that I played in, you know, the Stockton-Malones*, the Magic Johnsons, the Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, you know, those guys — they knew that they were competing against other great guys, and it’s kinda like their legacy is being judged against each other.

You want to beat those guys. You wanna, you know, the old saying is, to be the best, you gotta beat the best. So those best players wanted to beat the other guys, and so at the end of the day, you can say, hey, you know, I beat Larry Bird several times.

That’s, Isiah Thoma–I’m a huge Isiah Thomas fan. And that’s one of his claim to fame, is why he’s not, you know, liked as a player, he said, is because he had a winning record against Magic, against Michael, and against Bird, and nobody else did that.**

So, seeing these guys, you know, comprise these superteams — as a fan, it seems like they’re cheating a little bit. So when they win the titles, you gotta put a asterisk next to that, man.

* I love that he lists the Stockton-Malones as a single entity.
** Just sayin’:

Blue Edwards, Unintentional Dirty Quote Machine
On how much NBA he watches nowadays: I am an eight-minute guy.